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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26290501">The Lost Ones</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkribbon796/pseuds/Inkribbon796'>Inkribbon796</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Masks and Maladies [92]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Jacksepticeye Fandom, Markiplier fandom - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anti takes a joke too far, Casual Murder, Domestic Fluff, Illegal Cloning, Light Angst, M/M, Tags to be added, not towards children, superhero au, technically child endangerment</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:02:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,913</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26290501</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkribbon796/pseuds/Inkribbon796</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Anti liked joking around, he likes pulling pranks and bothering Dark now that he’s permanently moved into Egoton. But one day he decides to take the joke too far, and it gets about five times more unfunny. But when it’s all said and done, Dark had to admit . . . he is charming.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>darkstache</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Masks and Maladies [92]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1538131</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Illegal Clones and Legal Clones</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So, this one’s a bit of a mammoth of a story. I loved working on it but unfortunately chapters 4 and 5 (and maybe 6 because I am terrible and scoping things out) will be coming out next week. Hope you guys like these chapters.<br/>Also goes without saying, Wilford and Dark aren’t going to knowingly (or if Dark has his way it won’t be accidental either) harm kids. No kids are in danger in their care.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>~::~ Twenty Years Ago ~::~</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>It began as things tended to begin with Anti: jokes.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Hey, Dark,” Anti had burst into Dark’s main office to bother him, again.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Leave,” Dark told him, not looking up.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What’dya get when yah combine you an’ Wilford?” Anti sounded like he was trying to keep himself from cackling madly.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I don’t care,” Dark told him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“A hot mess,” Anti joked. Usually when Dark didn’t respond he used about anything to try and get his attention.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“If you need a body disposed of, I’m not helping,” Dark warned.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Yer just no fun,” Anti sulked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I’m busy,” Dark reminded. “It’s bad enough I have to put up with Wilford’s antics, I refuse to humor you as well.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anti then attempted to stab Dark and the ensuing fight got rid of some of Anti’s pent up energy. It also got the glitch thinking: </span>
  <em>
    <span>what would Dark or Wil’s kid be like?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He imagined Dark’s kid would probably be a lot like Dark was, about </span>
  <em>
    <span>ZERO</span>
  </em>
  <span> fun, and in about six years when he saw Kay and Illinois for the first time he would learn he was right.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wil’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> kid: that </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be an interesting kid. Wil was mad fun, a complete and utter lunatic, there was no way he couldn’t pass that down to a kid. And fortunately for Anti, Wil was a prolific nymphomaniac. He had to have some kid, </span>
  <em>
    <span>somewhere</span>
  </em>
  <span>. There was no way the Wilford that Anti knew hadn’t had sloshed, unprotected sex at least once in his life. Everyone in the crime world knew that while Dark and Wil were Ego’s big couple, Wil slept around.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>After a month, Anti gave up looking for the brat, either Dark had tried to clean up Wil’s extra-relationship affairs before they could bear fruit, or the kid had been hidden from Dark.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Another couple of weeks passed and his brain came up with a stupid idea: </span>
  <em>
    <span>why not clone the assholes?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Cut out the middleman. It was probably their only way someone was even going to get an ankle biter out of Dark in the first place.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But, as it turned out, cloning someone was way harder than Anti thought it would be. He needed people to do the cloning, a safe place for them to work. And after Google joined Dark, Anti had to avoid his prying eye because that walking laptop told Dark everything.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The eggheads he’d </span>
  <strike>
    <span>threatened</span>
  </strike>
  <span> found had been excited about the process, but hesitantly optimistic about their chances. But either way they’d need a test and Anti shrugged his shoulders and knew he couldn’t get any of the conventional ways to make a kid from Dark at least without getting his head blown off for even suggesting it.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>They needed a test and Wil was the easy option.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  
  <span>“So wait?” Wil was already wasted, the slur in his speech even more pronounced after enough margaritas and martinis to kill a normal man, the two were sitting in a private room at some bar, Anti figured the mad man probably wouldn’t remember this come morning. “You need m’ what?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Yer aura,” Anti was admittedly a bit buzzed himself, electricity literally arching off of him in some spots. “I mean the docs will prolly use whate’er but I just wanna see what yer aura does if we pick it apart.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Will just shrugged, and either he didn’t care or was too drunk to care, but he set his arm on the table and whipped out the stiletto knife he usually hid in the garter on his right thigh and ran it down his arm until he randomly stopped. Wil picked something up and a whirling mass of pink and yellow came off.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The mad man held it out. “Here yah go.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anti hesitantly grabbed it, it felt like the consistency of cotton candy, but had almost a soapy, saccharine, bubble gum. And to Anti something about it felt twisted and fake.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But by this point Anti knew Wilford was incapable of keeping secrets when he was this sloshed. Wil had already slipped some pretty spicy secrets about what he and Dark did in the bedroom that had Anti demanding that he wanted literal brain bleach to get out of his mind.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>So Anti took it and let Wil try his hand at drunken flirting, leaving to go back to his lab coats to see what they could do with it.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>And to everyone’s surprise, the aura was reacting to stuff, almost like it was a living organism or a parasite that lived within Wil’s soul and it was very choosy about what it let them stick onto it. Despite the fact that it just sat there and did nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>It looked a bit like a slug after it had stopped moving, a pink and yellow swirling slug.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>At this point Anti had honestly forgotten about cloning Dark, the glitch demon wanted to see their auras fighting. He wanted to watch Wil and Dark’s auras tear each other apart.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>So it was time to get Dark’s aura, but Anti couldn’t just ask the Entity for it, no! He knew that there was no force on earth or Hell that would get Dark to willingly give Anti his aura for his death matches. So he’d have to take a chunk off by force.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>It took a week of stalking Dark before he finally got his chance, and Anti was just about ready to fight Dark himself but as luck and fate would have it, Dark decided to got out hunting.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The Entity was stalking a couple gangsters when Anti decided to make his move. They were a local group Anti liked to pick on from time to time, so they were a tiny bit smarter than some of the other groups that had tried and died taking Dark on as if he was Deceit.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>When Dark folded himself out of one of the alley shadows, one of the gangsters froze, watching Dark snap his own neck like the drama queen he was.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Huh,” the braver of the three gangsters realized. “Yer shorter than me.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anti almost blew his cover trying to stifle his own laughter. Dark looked insulted and infuriated. “Excuse you‽”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Sorry,” the guy was over six feet tall, but not more than half a foot taller than Dark or Anti. “I just figured </span>
  <em>
    <span>“the Demon of Egoton”</span>
  </em>
  <span> would be more demon-like, an’ bigger.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark seemed to get angrier, and Anti was trying to stop himself from laughing so much that he almost missed his chance.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The Entity’s aura shot out and grabbed onto the gangster, one of his friends tried to shoot Dark but it was stopped by another part of Dark’s aura. It began to ruthlessly tear into the gangster and his friends. “I’m not too short to kill you!”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anti lunged for Dark, managing to get his claws into Dark’s aura. The demon screamed out, in screeching pain. “I’ll be takin’ some ‘a that.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“ANTI! I will tear you apart so thoroughly that no force in Hell can piece you back together again!” Dark was furious, the gangster that were lucky enough not to get struck by Dark’s rampaging aura were forgotten.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anti raced off, running into the Void and trying to keep the writhing mass that was Dark’s aura away from the other demon. It was consciously trying to get back to Dark, or to kill Anti, the glitch demon wasn’t sure which and he didn’t particularly care at the moment. He was just trying to get away from Dark to keep him from taking his aura back.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Eventually Anti did get away, it was more luck that anything else. But when the coast was clear Anti returned to the scientists, covered in his own blackish, glitching, ichor blood and holding out the angry, hissing fragment of Dark’s aura.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Is that thing hissing?” The lead scientist asked, her curly light brown hair barely tied out of the way. Anti had completely forgotten all their names at this point. He was pretty sure it was Beautiful or Bunny or some weird French name he couldn’t pronounce.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Yeah,” Anti smiled, “let’s throw this bastard in with Wil’s and see if they kill each other.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Is that still alive after you disconnected that from him?” She was staring at it like it was a scientific marvel.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Well yeah,” Anti gestured as he spoke, “Wilf’s just got a weird aura. Most ‘a our auras are like this caustic fooker’s.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Quickly the scientist grabbed a container, the same type they put Wil’s in and Anti poked at Dark’s aura with his own, trying to get it especially angry.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Okay, Bunny let’s get this show on the road,” Anti dusted off his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“It’s Beauregard,” she corrected sharply, fixing her glasses as she held onto the container with one hand.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Ahh, whatever,” Anti dismissed, smiling. “I wanna see that prick’s aura get shredded.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Beauregard stopped as they entered another room, Anti moving through the wall. “Hold up, if we put them together are they going to just rip each other apart?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anti shrugged, “I mean, Dark’s an angry fooker an’ Wil’s aura is infectious, they gotta do somethin’ cool to each other.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Beauregard and Anti’s conversation came to a halt when they heard some yelling in the next room. She ran ahead, yelling, “What is going on in here?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I don’t know,” one of the technicians looked panicked. He and another technician were trying to keep Wil’s aura in the container it was in, the aura was bubbling and foaming, making a weird noise, Dark’s one aura was letting out that high pitched echo that Dark was infamous for. It cause more than one person to look around wildly for the demon to suddenly appear. It almost seemed like the fragment of Dark’s aura was shaking. The entire container Dark’s aura was in almost fell out of Beauregard’s arms. The result was the two auras seeming to square up against each other as if they were going to fight.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anti was almost cackling, rubbing his hands together, “Come on Bubbles, fook ‘im up. I got a fiver on yeh.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Wilford’s aura lunged again and suddenly it was inside the same container as Dark’s. The ringing became more intense.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Beauregard jumped, letting out this surprised scream. Then the ringing stopped  when Wilford’s aura just parked itself next to Dark’s and they both calmed down. No one in the room moved, not wanting to set off either of their test subjects. Beauregard watched in awe as Dark’s aura changed from an inky grey to a mix of blue and red, the colors changing between the two but never mixing. It was more blue than red at the moment.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oh yeh sappy bastards,” Anti cursed, stomping over. “Come on, I wanted a cage match!”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I thought we were cloning demons?” Beauregard asked him, most of her attention was on the little aura samples.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Ehh, I’m already bored, tell me when they actually start doin’ somethin’ interesti’,” Anti dismissed, and then he left.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But when he was fully gone he stuck his head back in, “An’ by that I mean they set themselves on fire or start shootin’ acid.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Right, right, of course,” Beauregard agreed, holding up the container and smiling. Even if they failed, she was going to learn some amazing things about auras.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>While Beauregard was planning, Anti had already gone back to Brighton to start terrorizing people again.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He was almost immediately found by Dark who demanded the shredded off piece of his aura back, he could grow it back on his own, of course, but didn’t like the idea of Anti having it.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>So when Anti couldn’t produce the missing piece of Dark’s aura, the fight resulted in Anti being turned into pixels and Dark walking off with a broken arm and five broken ribs — not that Dark told anyone about the broken bones.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>It took him a week to reform. By then he’d actually forgotten he’d gotten a team to do the actual cloning.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>After months and months and months, they called him to say they’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>“finally gotten a live one”</span>
  </em>
  <span> and Anti couldn’t pass up the opportunity to watch Egoton burn.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>After all, what could be more destructive than Wilford’s madness with Dark’s power?</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Dark getting called short was a request of an anon on tumblr, so I take no credit for it but I don’t know their name so I can’t give them credit for it.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A Star is Born</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Now that Anti has his clone of destruction it’s a lot smaller and a lot less destructive than he planned. But that doesn’t mean he can’t get chaos out of the little scientific miracle.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
  <span>The glitch demon was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> impressed.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He honestly didn’t know what he had expected, he’d barely been a part of the process past snipping off pieces of aura. But a brat sleeping in a glass box wasn’t what he’d expected.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Where was the doom? The chaos?</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anti glared at Beauregard, “It’s tiny.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Yep,” Bouregard was almost bouncing with glee. “We’ve named him Paul-08 since he’s the eighth one. He’s about five months now.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Don’t care, prolly not keeping the name,” Anti warned. “Ye said it was alive, looks pretty still ta me.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She looked disappointed, “He’s sleeping, and we really like that name. Besides, he’s just a baby.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Don’t,” Anti repeated. “Care. Is it alive or not? I didn’t get ye fookers their auras ta throw a baby shower.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Yes, he’s alive, he’s just sleeping,” she told him. “We’re starting to get him to try solid foods.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Good,” Anti immediately reached in a picked the baby up, realizing one thing. “This kid’s freezing.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Yes, we think it might have something to do with the maternal side genes,” she admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anti stared at her before looking the baby over, who was starting to fuss. Fighting the urge to dump the kid back in the incubator and walk away, he studied the kid a bit closer, a light coating of dark fluff was already on top of his head, and his eyes were starting to darken from the normal baby blue.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Then his brain halted, “Wait, I didn’t brin’ anythin’ extra.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oh, the maternal genes came from Smoky,” Beauregard was silently coaching Anti how to hold the baby, and to Anti immense relief he stopped fussing. “Whenever it turned more red it was receptive to cooperating even if it did become more aggressive in the process.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Smoky?” Anti repeatedly.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Yeah Smoky and Bubbles, we gave them nicknames because it was shorter than writing Dark Aura and Warfstache Aura.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I like it,” Anti decided, “continue.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Well you would not believe how uncooperative auras are, it took us ages to actually get the kid. He had to coax Smoky into making the shape we wanted and after a couple tries we got this little cutie.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The baby let out this little bubbly giggle.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>It reminded Anti more of Wilford than Dark, but all he needed was the thing to keep breathing.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Kay, we’ll be back,” Anti said, already opening up a portal and taking the kid through.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What?” Beauregard looked panicked. “Wait! He hasn’t had his—”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anti was stepping through with the kid and smiled, “Let’s go find your big scary dads and watch ‘em squirm.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>A couple of stolen baby things later and Anti was standing in a downtown plaza with the kid in a harness attached to his own chest, waiting while holding a phone he’d found ages ago and was using to post pictures online with him and the baby. The picture’s caption read: </span>
  <em>
    <span>Not ready for swimming lesson but still likes the water. Don’t tell his dad.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  
  <span>His favorite so far was the picture he took was the one he took standing on a large fountain in Dark’s territory, holding two fingers up with the kid trying to grab the water.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anti had to admit, the kid definitely inherited all of Wil’s charm and none of the anything Anti didn’t like about Dark . . . which fortunately for the kid that was everything about the Entity.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>So Anti was checking his phone, standing next to Wil’s radio station, the kid trying to grab his phone and was fussing a little bit. Which meant that he was either hungry or something like that. He’d have to take the kid back at this rate because he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> changing the brat’s diaper.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>In total he’d had the kid out for about ten minutes before he dodged Jackie who tried to snag the kid directly off his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Hey, hey,” Anti floated up and the kid started crying at the gust of wind suddenly rushing by them, startled and scared. “You don’t just steal kids, what kind of hero are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Okay, Anti,” Jackie approached carefully, having lost the element of surprise. “What’s it gonna take ta get that kid back ta their folks?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>A dumb hero, and a whole lot of noise.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Anti smiled. “I don’t know, why don’t yah come an’ take it from me?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>However Anti was grabbed from the back of the carrier straps and dragged back towards the ground by Silver.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Come on, Anti, just give us the kid,” Silver ordered. “Poor kid’s probably hungry.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The screaming the kid was doing was starting to become shrill, a dull ringing confused for Jackie’s tinnitus, but was a byproduct of inheriting Dark’s aura.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anti wrapped his arms around the kid and glitched himself away, slamming into a car. The instant Anti’s aura kicked up, the kid started snuffling instead of crying, trying to put some of the glitching pixels into his mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Come on, bend reality, do somethin’ yah ankle biter,” Anti demanded.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Anti, don’t be a bastard, give us the kid,” Jackie demanded.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Wish I could,” Anti looked at the car he’d crashed into and knocked it into the news station with his aura, it hit the gate and crashed into the entrance.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oops,” Anti smiled, and predictably color started to drain from the area, an odd red and blue effect echoing out from nearby objects. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Well kid looks like Daddy’s on his way,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Anti thought to himself.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>If the glitch couldn’t get his kicks from the kid, he would get it from Dark.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark came from the shadows right in front of Anti, his aura whipping around him threateningly, “Anti!”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Shit. Shit. Shit.” Silver muttered under his breath, Anti was one thing. It was bad enough that Anti had the kid, but he hadn’t done anything with the kid yet. But Dark </span>
  <em>
    <span>hated</span>
  </em>
  <span> kids, he’d gone on the record for his disdain for children. He didn’t let them get into his network, he didn’t let them get near him. And Dark was already pissed.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Ahhh,” a little coo came from the kid attached to Anti’s chest and two little hands reached out to touch Dark’s aura.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The act just about gave Silver and Jackie a heart attack. They’d seen adult superheros get hit by Dark’s aura and come out the other side like they’d bent sent through a blender.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark jolted when his aura met with something strangely familiar. His aura calmed down without Dark’s permission.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What is that?” Dark asked, pointing down at the kid, his finger was grabbed by the kid.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Jeez took yeh fer-fookin-e’er ta show up,” Anti rolled his eyes and took the kid off of him, and shoved the kid into Dark’s arms who looked about ready to drop the kid on the spot. “See if I babysit fer ye fooks again.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark looked actually confused and Anti knew that regardless of if they actually kept the kid, he was going to savor this for the rest of his existence. Anti had never seen Dark twitch and blink so much, the ringing a bit more subdued.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The infant was already sticking Dark’s tie in his mouth and chewing on it.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Anti!” Dark yelled at him as Anti began walking backwards, a huge smile on his face. Wilford pushed the car out of his way, looking frustrated and angry, the situation successfully escalating. “What am I supposed to do with this thing?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Uh, uh,” Anti held up his index finger. “Favor’s done, I charge full price next time.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Wilford grabbed Anti who started whispering something to him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark however glared at the happy child in hands who he was trying to hold away at arm’s length. He was smiling, drooling all over his tie, which was still loosely hanging from his mouth. Bright dark brown eyes beaming with happiness and his pudgy little arms reaching towards the mob boss.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>A slew of questions was going through Dark’s mind:</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Why did he give me a kid? Why would he even have a kid? Oh fuck! Is he Wil’s? What am I going to do if it’s Wil’s?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Uh, Dark?” Silver asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark let out a little sigh of relief, “Finally you heroes are good for something.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He turned and held the kid out for Silver. “Here, take the wretch back to its mother.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Silver seemed to exhale in relief, “Yeah no problem, do you know who—”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Well if you wanted a break, Darky, all you had to do was ask,” Wil chuckled as he snagged the kid out of Dark’s hands before Silver could take him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The superhero stared at Wil in absolute horror, realizing that he’d rather have absolutely anyone holding the kid except for Wil.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The little boy let out a startled cry but going completely silent, starting up at Wil with large round eyes. Wil’s almost invisible aura making the kid’s pupils dilate just a little bit.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Long day, huh Junior?” Wil smiled as the kid reached up for Wil’s curled mustache. “Did you have fun with Uncle Anti?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Wil, let’s not play games right now,” Dark demanded. “Give them the child.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Wil looked confused at that, the baby grabbing at one of Wil’s suspenders and starting to chew on it. “Why? I got done with work early? I can take Junior for the evening.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Silver and Jackie looked at the baby, Dark and Wilford, and then at each other.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Wil, it is two in the afternoon, you didn’t get done with anything,” Dark spat, pointing at the cat lying in front of the radio station. “Anti threw a car at you.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Wilford almost did a double take, staring at the car, “How long has that been there?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Give me the child,” Dark demanded, holding his hand out, his aura already trying to pry the baby from Wil’s arms. “Just go back to work and I’ll fix this.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The baby started fussing and crying, grabbing onto Wil’s shirt.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Wil’s aura snapped into visible sight and Dark’s aura was slapped away, the mad man holding the boy closer to his chest. “You don’t remember Junior?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“There’s nothing to remember,” Dark spat angrily, his ringing almost shrill, his shell echoing and fracturing. “Anti found some brat off the street, give it to me.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“He’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>ours</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Wil huffed, the baby’s crying was almost shrill, the boy’s ringing cry lost in Dark’s much louder one.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark felt the need to strangle Wilford, his fingers itching to summon an axe to bury into his chest. “You stupid idiot, Wil, that child isn’t yours!”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Silver and Jack were trying to get close but the dueling auras didn’t permit it. The situation was quickly spiraling out of control.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Wil let out an offended gasped and quickly slipped through a portal with the infant, almost slicing off part of Dark’s aura when he tried to stop him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>His shell was fragmenting into dozens of copies as Dark stewed in his own caustic anger. Then he screamed in furious anger, most of his aura turning into a caustic, blood red. His aura tore up the pavement and the gate, and just about anything else he could reach.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark’s fury turned to Anti who was just cackling off to the side, finding the whole mess utterly hilarious. He was floating off the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He was in front of the glitch demon in an instant, glaring down at him in molten fury. “Where did you get that thing?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anti fought for breath before smiling, “Don’t know what you’re talkin’ ‘bout </span>
  <em>
    <span>Daddy</span>
  </em>
  <span>, maybe yeh should go catch yer boyfriend ‘fore he kills the kid?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark raked his claws across Anti’s face, narrowly avoiding destroying Anti’s tentatively corporeal form, but stomping into a portal to follow Wil’s decaying magical trail.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Cheering victoriously at himself, Anti picked himself off the ground and saw one more game to play, Silver and Jackie already putting out a frantic call for a missing baby.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“How long before you think they realize it’s fake?” Anti chuckled, floating next to the two heroes.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What?” Jackie demanded, pausing in his report of the kid.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Pffft,” Anti laughed. “Come on, I magicked up a bag ‘a flour an’ stuck a clump ‘a dog hair on it. I mean what </span>
  <em>
    <span>kid</span>
  </em>
  <span> smiles at that piece of shite? I’m amazed Dark bought the illusion.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Anti, if you are fucking with us, and that was a real kid, it’ll die,” Silver threatened darkly.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anti just laughed, “I wonder if Wil will try an’ make cookies outta it before or after he realizes it’s fake? Did you see Dark’s face when Wil told him no, I didn’t think Bubbles had it in him.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Then Anti left, chuckling to himself, after all the lab coats had made one brat, if Wil killed it they could just make another one.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Silver and Jackie were just standing in the wake of destruction, unsure what to do.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What are the chances he’s lying,” Silver demanded, “you’ve known him longer than me.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jackie frowned, “I don’t know, Anti doesn’t usually mess with kids, but they stopped crying when Dark first took ‘em, so maybe he’s telling the truth.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Let’s put out that APB, if that kid’s real we need to find their mom and fast,” Silver decided.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Good thinking,” Jackie agreed and the two of them checked that everyone in the station was okay before leaving to find Abe.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Underworld Prince of Egoton</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dark is sure of many things: a kid is a bad idea, that they live dangerous lives. But Wilford disagrees.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
  <span>Dark didn’t actually take a horrendously long time to find Wilford. It was the last place he expected, and by then a significant portion of his anger had cooled.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>After searching the radio station, the warehouses, and the cabin, Dark found Wil in the Manor, the baby in his lap. He was showing the baby a picture book on the floor of the master bedroom. There was a mess of baby formula on the floor, and the front of the kid’s light green onesie was already stained with milk.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He was reading </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Very Hungry Caterpillar</span>
  </em>
  <span> with a huge smile on his face, seemingly unaware that the baby was more interested in trying to eat the book instead of reading it.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But what paused Dark wasn’t the objectively adorable domestic sight in front of him, it was the wire frame crib that Dark had thought he’d hidden in the farthest reaches of the attic.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark’s red soul completely stilled in her anger, his blue soul was getting a bit fidgety, wanting his cane to twist and hold onto.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Wilford stuck his finger out of one of the strawberries and wiggled it on the babe’s nose, successfully stealing his attention back. The baby giggled and tried to grab at Wil’s finger, succeeding once.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oh look, you caught the caterpillar,” Wil smiled, sounding a little like the Colonel for a split second.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark stiffened, he knew William couldn’t come back, the man was as good as dead like the twins.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But that didn’t stop his red soul from thinking: </span>
  <em>
    <span>he would have been a good father if given the chance.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark’s blue soul was agreeing with her.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But the Entity shook his head, trying to clear the mournful thoughts out of his mind. This child was not theirs and the police would hound them until they got it back.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Wil,” Dark called out gently.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Ahh, Dark,” Wilford smiled, as if their explosive argument had been completely forgotten. “So glad you arrived. “Junior and I were wondering when you’d get home.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark came down to sit next to Wil, trying to find a clean spot of carpet, “Wil, whatever Anti said to you, he was lying.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The baby had put one of the thick pages in his mouth and started chewing his gums on it. Letting out little cooing grunts.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Look, I know we didn’t plan on it,” Wil smiled maniacally, “but he has your eyes. And the boy is wonderful.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark took a steadying breath to calm his rage, immediately having to prop the baby up with his own aura when Wil didn’t notice the kid was about to lean over and slam on the ground. And when the kid grabbed at his aura, Dark felt like his aura was coming into contact with a part of itself. That maybe . . .</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark violently shuddered trying to dislodge those thoughts from his mind, Dark could feel his red and blue souls starting to get attached. The baby had a mouthful of Dark’s aura in his mouth and Dark felt uncomfortable, like the world was spinning violently out of his control. He had a criminal empire to run, he and Wil didn’t have the time, patience, or personalities to raise a child. They would just—</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Hey, hey,” Wil urged gently, taking Dark’s face into his hands. “Look at me.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The world mercifully started to focus on Wil, but the worries compounded still. “Wil, we need to return the child to their home.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Junior is home, and we can do this, you and I together can do anything,” Wil promised with that manic, overconfident gleam he was infamous for. Then he picked up the baby who was trying unsuccessfully to gnaw on Dark’s aura. “Look at him, isn’t he lovely?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark did his best to try and look at the bright eyed happy baby with objectivity, but it was almost impossible when every part of his soul yearned for something. Something that he would take from someone else.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Letting out a long, tired sigh, Dark gave in, “Fine, if the boy belongs to you, you can keep it, if not you will give it back to Silver and I can be done with the whole mess.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“That’s a bet we’ll win,” Wilford laughed with overconfidence. He stood up and tried to put the </span>
  <em>
    <span>five month old</span>
  </em>
  <span> on his shoulders. Dark was quicker and snatched him away, cradling him safely in his arms.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Wil he’s barely old enough to hold his head up,” Dark growled. “It’s barely been a few hours and you’re already going to kill him.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Nonsense,” Wil huffed, gently taking the baby back. One hand cradling the back of his head and his arms steadying him in a protectively cradle. “He’s a sturdy boy.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Then Wil brought his hands down before quickly bringing the baby back up. The boy let out a high pitched giggle.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark felt in that moment that if his heart wasn’t already dead it would have stopped.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Stop that!” Dark demanded angrily.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Eh, he’s fine,” Wil dismissed but held the babbling baby to his shoulder. The baby immediately drooling on him. “I wasn’t going to drop him.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I can’t have you shaking him either,” Dark demanded,</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Bah! I wasn’t,” Wil rolled his eyes, before looking uncomfortable. “Uh, Dark what did we name him? I seem to have forgotten.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark felt the need to shake Wil, but he was still holding the baby, “We got him this afternoon, we don’t know his name.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“That doesn’t seem right,” Wilford pulled the baby back and they both smiled at each other. “What’s your name, young man?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Beh!” The baby slapped Wil’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Beh?” Wil repeated and Dark massaged at his temples.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Beh . . . Beeeh . . . Bill?” Wilford frowned. “No, Bill is short for Wil, we can’t have that. Darky, why’d we name him after me, that’s a terrible idea?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>A loud internal scream echoed in Dark’s mind, “The first one dying is you, Wil.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Hmm,” Wilford frowned, laughing when the baby reached for his mustache. “Well let’s see, Beh . . . Ehm?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The baby let out a loud giggle, bapping Wil’s face again.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Bim it is,” Wil announced triumphantly. “Well how do you like it Junior?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark was absently kindly thinking about the insane amount of work they’d need to do for this child. The whole Manor would need to be childproofed . . . if that was even possible! There were suits of armor with swords in their hands, priceless works of art casually sitting the hallways, waiting to be broken. There were dead bodies in the forest and Dark had no time to prepare.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I call weekdays,” Wil decided, out of the blue, jogging Dark from his own thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What?” Dark asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Yeah,” Wilford smiled. “You can have weekends and holidays.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Wil, we live in the same house,” Dark reminded. Something his heart straining at the idea of Wil just taking the kid and leaving him. Granted he wasn’t theirs and would be better off dumped at child services but his twin souls screamed at the idea.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“No, I meant to show Junior the ropes, bring him to the station, you can bring him to the office, that sort of thing,” Wil explained, an oblivious smile on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark felt relief at first, but the idea of Wil leaving had already taken root at the core of Dark’s souls, and in time it would grow and fester like an insidious disease.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Instead of addressing it, confronting it, Dark buried the hurt, offended twinge in his souls and commented, “He’s not going to the station, he’s five months old, what’s he going to do? Lay there and chew on cables?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I’ll interview him,” Wil smiled. “The audience will love him, who wouldn’t?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark grabbed Wil, “If he comes within sight of that couch, you will </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> see him in that studio again. He is not going to be interviewed, he is not playing your games, end of story!”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Fine, fine,” Wil quickly promised, suddenly sounding fearful. “He’ll say in the green room.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The Entity let him go, “Good enough.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark let go, trying to clear his head. “Okay I’ll clean up, you go get Anti.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Why?” Wilford asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I just need to ask him about what he did while he was with . . . Junior,” Dark evaded. “And he needs to be cleaned up.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Okay,” Wil sounded hesitant, but passed Bim to Dark, Dark feeling a thousand times calmer by getting Bim out of Wil’s arms. “Be right back.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Naturally,” Dark told him and he was already trying to puzzle how to do this. Wil watched them for a second before stepping through the Void.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The effect was instantaneous, Bim began screaming, crying out and reaching out for where Wil had been.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark groaned in anger, immediately taking the boy into the bathroom to clean him up. Bim struggled, and failed his arms and despite cradling him with his aura and trying to be careful, Dark wound up just as wet as Bim was. He used a small portal to try and steal a onesie from somewhere, the Void was lacking one for obvious reasons. He also had to wind up stealing a diaper and struggled to change Bim into his new clothes, the boy wound up screaming himself to sleep, and Dark laid him in the crib. Finally allowing him to start raking his aura around the carpet, trying to get the drying formula. It went easier than trying to use his aura to clean the baby, almost like his aura didn’t want to work properly around the boy.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The Void ripped open and Wil and Anti tumbled out, laughing.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Quiet,” Dark hissed at them, but it was already too late, Bim started crying again.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Wil moved automatically, looking extremely repentant as he picked Bim up, “Oh, Junior, did I wake you?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Bim was snuffling angrily, but quieted down now that Wil was holding him. Dark let out a sigh of relief as it quieted down. Now he could think again, he turned back to Anti who was smiling at the ceiling.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Is that milk?” Anti chuckled as he pointed at the ceiling. Dark looked up to see a massive milk spot on the ceiling that he had missed.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Wil?” Dark started, glared at Wil.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Wilford was smiling, trying to charm his way back into Dark’s good graces. “Yes, my sweet Darkling?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“How </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> you get so much formula everywhere?” Dark demanded.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Well I was supposed to shake the bottle before I gave it to him,” Wilford answered, as if that was obvious.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What’dyah do ta get that much up there?” Anti smiled. “Did yah forget ta put the fookin’ nip on or somethin’?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Maybe,” Wilford looked away for a bit.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anti just laughed, “How is this brat not already dead?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Alright,” Dark said, waving his aura in front of the glitch demon. “I can’t possibly understand why you chose to play games with an actual child, but the joke’s over, where’d it come from?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Really, Darky, I thought you were told all about the oranges and the muskrats,” Wil asked in confusion.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark took a long, pained sigh, closing his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anti chuckled, “Oh there’s a story ta that ain’t there?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“It was the worst trip to Vegas I’ve ever had, and Wil was supposed to be in London,” Dark groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What—?” Anti was too curious for his own good.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“If I tell you the blasted story, will you tell me where you got the kid?” Dark bargained.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Only if yah don’t cheat me on the details,” Anti demanded, floating so he could put his hands up under his chin.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“In the eighties I was in a business meeting, with a bunch of entitled assholes. Wilford teleported in, covered in bog water, holding an overgrown rat in one hand. He proceeded to show me and a board room of businessmen the muskrat he’d found fucking an orange, and that image has been burned into my mind for the end of time.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“That’s it?” Anti spat.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You said I had to tell you the story, not that I had to tell it well,” Dark reminded smugly. “So, now it’s your turn.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Fine, I grabbed him from a couple lab coats, oh an’ he might not have his rabies shots,” Anti admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What?” Dark’s voice had almost no emotional intonation to it.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Yeah,” Anti began to gloat. “Had a bunch of lab coats clone yah two clowns, an’ I took the end product out fer a spin on the town.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You,” Dark’s ringing started to pitch up as his words began to trail off with his own anger. “That’s why you stole my aura.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I figured they’d just kill each other but hey, congrats Father ‘a the Year,” Anti smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark’s aura started to curl around Anti and he demanded, “Where is this lab then?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  
  <span>It took several threats and a bit of a skirmish on the second floor before Anti took Dark to the lab. Wil not too far behind. Dark then proceeded to single out the head scientist: Professor Beauregard and shove her into a storage room with Wil and Bim while the Entity proceeded to go on a killing spree in the lab.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>His reasoning: pettiness mostly. People had touched his and Wil’s aura, and Dark had to recollect. He found his aura near the end, cuddled in a little tube next to Wilford’s. Both the pieces of aura were a mere fraction of the size they’d been when Anti had first delivered them. Proximity had Dark’s aura changing from the mostly blue mass back to a dark grey.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>With his own aura subsumed, he completed his </span>
  <em>
    <span>“tour”</span>
  </em>
  <span> of the facility and then returned Wil’s aura to him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Walking into the storage room he saw Beauregard on the floor with Bim, happily playing with him while Wil saw next to them, blowing raspberries into Bim’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She flinched when she saw Dark. “Uhh . . .”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You have two choices,” Dark warned her. “You will take direct orders from me and become Bim’s above board doctor, and keep your mouth shut about what you’ve done here, or I paint the walls with your blood.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Beauregard looked around him at the blood already outside the room and smiled, standing up with Bim, “Well it’s a pleasure doing business with you.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark didn’t shake her hand, he carefully took Bim from her, his voice full of warning, “I don’t appreciate when things are taken from me, you were complicit in stealing my aura, consider him interest.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“But he’s—” Beauregard looked heart broken, but was silenced by a sharp glare from Dark.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>After a couple hours Bim’s new doctor had been relocated, Anti had gotten bored, and Dark had a huge stack of papers to go through while the area was being cleaned. Wil and the child in question were sitting with him in one of the only clean rooms in the labs.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Chilled from his rampant fury everything seemed too real. Hearing it from Anti was one thing, and Dark knew that Wil could get attached to a rock on the ground if it was shiny enough.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But these reports were . . .</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He could walk into a court with these and win a custody case. Bim was biologically his. And Wil’s, but that was another can of worms.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Which meant that, there would be no </span>
  <em>
    <span>parents</span>
  </em>
  <span> to come looking for Bim.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Wilford was dead set on keeping him, and Dark could already feel his blue soul start to get attached. That </span>
  <em>
    <span>surely we can’t let the heroes just walk off with him?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  
  <span>And Dark had to agree.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>If no one was truly going to come for the child, then the only thing that could possibly stop Wil now was Dark.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I like the name Bim,” Wilford decided, smiling.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark rolled his eyes, “Sure. Warfstache or Doom?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Trimmer,” Wilford grinned.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“That name has nothing to do with either of our families,” Dark reminded, looking up from the report he was reading.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I know, it’s perfect,” Wilford passed Bim to Dark.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Papers were dropped but Bim was comfortably leaning on Dark’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>With the knowledge that no one was coming to take Bim away, Dark could get a good look at the kid.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Trimmer it is,” Dark agreed, thinking that maybe, at least for a while, it was good not to have the boy associated with either of them.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>And when Dark would, later that night while both of them were sleeping in the Manor, have a fresh birth certificate in hand he would fill out the name they’d planned: </span>
  <em>
    <span>Bim Trimmer.</span>
  </em>
  <span> On the middle name line he started to write </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wilford.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He intended to, it would be easier to hide, but instead he spelled out: </span>
  <em>
    <span>William.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  
  <span>There would be many sleepless nights to come in the Manor, even after Bim had grown out of his cranky toddler phase.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>In the next few years it would become obvious to Dark that Bim inherited Wil’s energy and enthusiasm. But Dark found that, like he could with Wil, that energy was tolerable.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>After all, Bim had Wil’s charm.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>See you all next week, hope you guys like the chapters.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. I am a Lost Boy, from Neverland</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Many things in a large city fall by the wayside, one of the things, unfortunately, are that many children are forgotten and lost.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Title for this and the concept for this entire story were when I was listening to Lost Boy by Ruth B. it’s a really good song.<br/>WARNING! Yancy is kidnapped in this fic, something I’ve been alluding to in a couple of fics. Nothing else happens to him but it does touch on the fact that worse could have happened to him.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>~::~ 14 Years Ago ~::~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-::- Arthur Isaacs -::-</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Arthur had hazy memories of his birth parents. He didn’t know much but he did know that they gave him up because they couldn’t handle him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But in the world of temporary homes he’d learned that if you wanted attention, the fastest way to get it was to be louder than anything else.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>It usually got him into trouble and caused fights, but they weren’t ignoring him. He was there to them.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>One of the caretakers was trying to fix his collar, it was dirt and bloodstained from a fight with another kid.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Arthur, can you put the book down for five seconds?” She demanded harshly, then tried to push the little pocket spiral notebook out of his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“NO!” Arthur screamed and twisted away.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Listen to me,” she told him sharply. “You have someone who’s talking about </span>
  <em>
    <span>adopting</span>
  </em>
  <span> you. This isn’t a foster home.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Arthur didn’t believe her, no one wanted him, she was just trying to take his notebook!</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I got this,” a deeper, southern drawl spoke up. “Howdy kiddo.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Arthur looked up at a man in a bushy mustache, his normally messy brown hair combed back but there was still an indent that showed he usually wore a hat.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Howdy, what’cha got there?” The man knelt down a little, smiling.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The boy glared at him before kicking the man in the shins, making him scream in anger and pain as he pulled away from him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Arghhhh! Yah son-of-a—!” The man screamed and Arthur smiled back.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“That’s quite enough, Edgar,” a sharper baritone sliced through the air.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The man glared at someone down the hall and Arthur froze when he saw a man standing in the doorway of the office. Arthur had heard whispers of the older kids who snuck out at night and talked about finding </span>
  <em>
    <span>“The Demon”</span>
  </em>
  <span>. A monster who they said dragged kids under their bed and ate them as they slept.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Arthur clutched his notebook to his chest. One of the caretakers was hovering close to his side, as if she was going to pull him away.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Hello Mr. Isaacs,” Dark greeted, walking towards him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Arthur stepped forward and moved to stomp on the man’s foot; confident that regardless of what happened, he’d get a pretty cool story out of it.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark was faster and Arthur’s foot met an impenetrable barrier that looked like it should be made of smoke.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The Entity just stared at Arthur, all the adults braced to see the seven-year-old sent flying back down the hallway for his bravado. But Dark just chuckled, clearly more amused with the boy than offended.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Are you the Devil?” Arthur asked, not breaking eye contact.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark laughed, absolutely tickled by Arthur’s attitude. He bent his knees and brought himself down to Arthur’s level, “What if I said I was?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Prove it,” Arthur dared. “Where do you take the kids you eat?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I don’t eat children,” Dark told him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“If you want my notebook, you can’t have it,” Arthur spat, twisting a bit and shielding his notebook with his body.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You like to write?” Dark asked, smiling.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I’m gonna be the best writer ever,” Arthur proclaimed.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark’s smile didn’t fade, “I’m sure you will be.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>After that Dark would walk into the office with the director. Arthur would be sent back to the other kids. He would tell the older kids he’d seen the Devil and spoken with him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>They, of course, didn’t believe him. Arthur was infamous for making up stories. He was hit by a particularly tall thirteen-year-old.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But when Arthur disappeared one morning and never returned. One of the other kids would say they saw him with a person who made the room ring and lose its color . . . well . . . they were inclined to believe that he had been right.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-::- Illinois Jones -::-</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Illinois has been through a couple foster homes in his short seven year life so he knew what it meant to be brought into this room. It was the outer lobby where potential parents and foster parents got to meet the kids they were hoping to take care of. Sometimes some of the older teenagers would come and go from the room because it was a quiet place to sit and relax.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The first time he’d been in the room he had snuck in. Right now, after his last . . . he didn’t like to think about going to another place.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But he was led into the room that, unlike any other time Illinois had been inside of it, it was empty except for a man sitting at a table. He was playing chess with himself.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Hello,” he greeted when Illinois was brought to stand next to him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Hello,” Illinois responded back. “Were you playing with someone?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He smiled, resetting the board and gesturing for Illinois to sit down. “In a way. Do you like chess?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Shrugging, Illinois looked at the man, “I played once with one of the older kids. I lost.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Tends to happen,” Dark chuckled, waved his hands over the board and it became a deck of cards. “I remember losing my first couple of games. Do you play cards?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Yeah?” Illinois answered. As he began shuffling, Illinois added, “I’m Illinois.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He smiled, “My name is Dark.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Really?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Illinois thought, but what the boy said was, “I’ve never heard that name before.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>There was a slight, silent chuckle that passed through Dark, “Have you ever played spoons before?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Illinois nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“This is a little variant we play at my house,” Dark told him, pulling out the card on the top and tapping the little letters, “four matching numbers. Only we draw from the deck instead of passing it to each other.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He drew three more cards, he now had: a three of clubs, a queen of spades, a four of hearts, and a seven of hearts. Then he tossed the queen into the center next to the deck. “Do you understand?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>With a nod, they started. The two played in almost complete silence.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark won.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>They started another game, and halfway in Dark spoke up, “I’ve heard a lot about you. They say you’re quite the escape artist.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Illinois felt . . . the closest he could call it was scared.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I don’t like being stuck,” Illinois evaded.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I suppose I can relate to that,” Dark told him. Then he won again, and Illinois felt frustrated. It didn’t seem fair.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But he let Dark start another round.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You’re good at this game,” Illinois told Dark.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The Entity smiled, “I’ve actually grown quite rusty. My . . . boyfriend and his son love playing spoons, and he has been teaching him how to cheat. So the game is less who’s faster, but who doesn’t get caught.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Then he placed down a group of four sevens, “I win again.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Illinois glared at him, “Hey, you cheated.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark had a huge, cat-like grin on his face as he took the cards and shuffled again, “Now why would I do that?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“How am I gonna win if you’re cheating?” Illinois complained in frustration.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Now Illinois,” Dark’s tone was marginally firmer than before. “I’m going to ask you a simple question. I have time for one more game, or we can talk a bit. What would you like to do?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He tapped the top of the deck twice and Illinois frowned.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“We can play another game,” Illinois pouted.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“We don’t have to,” Dark insisted.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Illinois insisted and Dark shuffled them in again and in the first round, Illinois had two fours. The game proceeded two more rounds and Illinois was feeling hopeful. Then Dark tossed the last four Illinois needed into the discard pile. Dark didn’t break eye contact with him, clearly expecting something from him. Illinois knew Dark was going to cheat again, that he was going to take the win from him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>It wasn’t fair, if he could just get into the discard pile then he’d win.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>There was some clattering off in the distance and Dark turned his entire body to look down the hall. Illinois darted, grabbing the last four. But in his rush he’d forgotten to get rid of the ten he still had before Dark turned back around. He quickly chucked the card into the discard pile.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I won!” Illinois smiled, putting his cards down and throwing his hands up in the air.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark just smiled, as if he was amused by him, chin resting on his palm. “I guess you did.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He collected the cards and then grabbed the deck and fanned the cards out to show Illinois that deck was half-full of nothing but fours. Then he brought them back together and tapped them on the table, making them all disappear.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Illinois, I am going to have to go, but I will see you again,” Dark promised.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“When?” Illinois felt a weight settling in his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“If all goes well? Tomorrow, if not the day after.” Dark stood up but when he held out his hand again the deck of cards was back in his hands. “Do practice, you’re going to need it, and I want someone other than Wil winning all the time.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Thank you,” Illinois took the cards and held them to his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark left and Illinois took the cards into his room, sneakily making sure to stay up late to practice and when he was ushered into a car by one of the caretakers he was yawning and almost falling asleep on his feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-::- Kaylor Kingston -::-</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I don’t wanna go,” Kay sobbed in panic, holding onto the table leg.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>One of the caretakers was sadly looking down at the little five year old. Yesterday a man in a dark suit had come to talk to him and in the moment he’d been put at ease a bit, but now that he was being taken out of the facility, Kay was having a minor panic attack.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Kaylor, it’s not another foster home, you even liked him when he came over,” she tried to calm him down.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>It took a bit of time before Kay could be convinced to follow them down and into a waiting car. It was a black one, and when the door was open Kay could see another boy sitting inside, curled and sleeping against the door.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>At first Kay was fine as he was basically belted into his car seat, but soon as the doors closed he was struck by blind fear again. “No! No! No!”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Kaylor was crying and lightly hitting his forehead on the door but it wouldn’t budge.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The other kid in the car was sleeping with a deck of cards tightly clutched in his hands. At Kay’s tears and the screaming, he woke up drowsily. “Hmmm?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Hello,” he mumbled before leaning over. Kay fearfully cried because he didn’t want to be alone but he couldn’t get out of his seat.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He introduced himself as Illinois and then eventually fell asleep again and it was a bit of a drive before the car stopped.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The car door on Kay’s side opened and there was the grey man in the suit again.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Their driver got out of the car to help him get Illinois out.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I trust the drive was uneventful?” Dark asked and Kay watched Dark’s smoky dark grey aura take him out of his seat but didn’t pull him out of the car. Illinois slowly walked over to Dark, looking like he was going to fall asleep while still standing.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Yes, Sir, smooth driving,” the driver answered.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Hello Kaylor, I’m here to take you home,” Dark told him. “First we’re going to get something to eat.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Kay eyes him suspiciously and Dark produced from the Void a little rabbit plushie, “Timid little one, aren’t you? You’re definitely a smart one.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The small boy took the rabbit but it took another moment of gentle coaxing before he got out.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“There we go,” Dark smiled, using his aura to carefully scoop both boys up and whisk them toward his favorite restaurant.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-::- Yan Ayano -::-</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yan followed after the man in a cowboy hat. He looked scared. She’d never seen an adult look scared before.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Where are we going?” Yan asked him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Ed, for his part, was trying desperately not to panic in front of a five-year-old. Dark had a relatively specific order when he’d contracted Ed to bring him kids. They had to look like the one he already had.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>How Dark wound up with a five-year-old, he had no idea. Probably Wil if the man was to put money on it. Wil had probably got sloppy drunk and the poor girl had been found out by Dark.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Really Dark made his job so much harder by being vague. About five, Asian-descent, and male were the only things Ed could think Dark wanted.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The problem: Yan ticked only </span>
  <em>
    <span>two</span>
  </em>
  <span> of those boxes. But it was showtime. He was already short a kid, and being short two kids would look even worse. Ed honestly blamed it on the little girl’s short hair.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>In his scramble to get the kids, he’d overlooked her gender and Dark was—</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark stepped through the portal into the warehouse that Illinois and Kay would eventually be brought to in about an hour.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The girl looked at Dark and hid behind Ed with a gasp.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark looked at Yan and Ed braced for a sharp dismissal. “Number four, I’ve got five in the next room.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Ed held out her file, “Yan Ayano, from Pembroke Holy Orphanage.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark took the small file, quickly flipping through it. He let out an amused chuckle, then looked back at Yan.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Then Dark bent his knees a little to get closer to Yan’s level and he change almost at the blink of an eye. Dark shifting to look like her red soul.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Ed had seen Dark’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>“other half”</span>
  </em>
  <span> one other time so far. Back when he worked for his father before the man was forced to retire. He knew that his father feared Dark when she was like this. That Dark was more dangerous in this form.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Hello,” Dark smiled at Yan.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yan poked her head out from behind Ed’s leg a bit.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark smiled, keeping her teeth hidden to try not to frighten the girl. “Well it’ll certainly be good to have a little lady in the house. A nice little sister.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Ed just about died from relief.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What if I’m not a good girl?” Yan mumbled.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark’s’s head tilted a bit, almost like a cat, “And why wouldn’t you be?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I cut Jenny’s hair because she said my haircut looked dumb,” Yan mumbled into Ed’s leg.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark laughed, a lilted high pitched laugh, and clapped her hands, “Oh aren’t you a delightful little peach. You are just perfect.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yan’s face peeked out more from Ed’s leg, looking more hopeful. “You’re really pretty.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark smile didn’t fade, holding out her hands, “And so are you.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Carefully Yan stepped forward and took her hands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-::- Yancy </span>
  <span>Times</span>
  <span> -::-</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yancy was having the worst week of his life. He’d been going to a family reunion with his parents and he’d been sleepy during the drive. Next thing he knew someone was grabbing him away from them and he couldn’t think to scream before they were already out the door and being shoved into a car.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Then he was taken to another car and driven away from there to another building where he was put in a room.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He hid in the closet, trying to hide.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He was found by a man in a cowboy hat who dragged him away from the room and he was so scared and terrified that he just dead fished on the ground. Which in retrospect would be a last-ditch effort technique he would be taught later in life.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yancy was unfortunately dragged off to a warehouse and locked in a room. His only tactic hid under a chair.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Then, after ages of waiting terrified, the door opened.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“As far as I know, nothin’s happened ta him,” a southern drawl was the first thing he heard.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You’re sure?” A deeper voice demanded, he sounded angry and that terrified Yancy even more.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Bout 75%,” the southern drawl answered. “One ‘a my boys might have gotten handsy behind my back but they wouldn’ta had a lot of time ta do anythin’.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Then someone knelt down in front of him and Yancy tried to flinch back but there was nowhere to go.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I want my mommy and daddy,” Yancy sobbed.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The man with grey skin glared at the cowboy, “I said no families, was I unclear?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Look I don’t know where he’s from, I was cleanin’ up the room an’ he was in there,” the southern guy spat. “Where am I supposed to move him ta?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Just go, I’ll handle this,” there was a ringing that accompanied his voice that seemed to get louder and Yancy whimpered, trying to cover his ears.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He braced for . . . something but it never came and eventually he saw the man sitting a bit farther away, “Hello, what’s your name?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Yancy?” Yancy replied.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Do you know who I am?” The man asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yancy shook his head.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“There’s been an unfortunate mix-up,” the man told him. “You are not supposed to be here.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Can I go home?” Yancy asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Not yet, do you know where you’re from?” The man asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I live in a blue apartment, number 18, third floor,” Yancy explained, just a touch braver.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“No, I mean—” he rubbed at the bridge of his nose, “city. What city are you from?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yancy went quiet, trying to remember but the name escaped him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Well then,” the man threw his hands up, standing up. “I’ll have to keep my eyes on you until I can send you home. My name is Dark.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>When he offered his hand, Yancy reluctantly worked his way out from under the chair. It would take him almost eleven years to make it back to his birth parents, and unfortunately it would have grievous results.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. I saw a Shadow Flying High</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dark’s new little wards get to have their first lunch with Dark.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
  <span>Illinois woke up, very suddenly, when his chair was kicked out from under him. It was dipping his body in a cold shock when he slammed on the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Wha—” Illinois looked around and saw another kid his age just cackling at him, he was holding a spiral bound notebook. “Hey!”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Illinois looked around, disoriented and scared as he looked around at the unfamiliar room.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Arthur,” Dark sharply reprimanded. “Why in the seven circles would you think you could hurt your brother?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“He’s not my brother,” Arthur spat as another part of Dark’s aura picked Illinois up and picked a piece of carpet fluff from his hair.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Arthur glared at Dark before kicked another chair started walking towards the only window. Illinois realized that there were other kids in the room, two of them hiding behind Dark.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I wouldn’t do that,” Dark said casually, a slight smile on his face. “We’re on the second floor and that roof is at a slant.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You can’t tell me what to do!” Arthur told him as Dark watched with an amused smile as Arthur opened the window and stepped out, immediately slipping.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He barely slipped off the roof before he fell into a Void portal and tumbled back into the room Dark was in. Arthur was screaming in terror and was cut off when one of Dark’s echoes closed the window, this time locking it, and looked Arthur in the eyes. “When I tell you something it’s not to tell you what to do, it’s because things like the roof are not safe to be climbed on without a harness.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Arthur glared at him, before looking around wildly, “No! Where—”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark held out Arthur’s spiral bound notebook with his aura, “You should take care of your things.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>His glare got somehow angrier and he snatched the notebook back. Dark motioned to a rip in reality. Arthur shied away from it for a second before reaching up to touch the portal and startled when his hand went through it. He pulled his hand back and repeated it.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What’s it feel like?” Illinois asked, more curious than he was angry.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Tickles,” Arthur smiled, trying to look around the portal to see if he could see his own hand.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Well, let’s go,” Dark motioned to the portal, already walking to the portal and half-stepping through. “We’ve got an early lunch to catch.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The two kids trying to hold onto him followed him through and Illinois was quick to rush after him. They kids found that this other room had a table with several chairs around it. Eventually they started taking seats. Illinois rushed for the seat next to where Dark was already standing. Kay had the chair on Dark’s other side. </span>
  <span>Á̵̶ń̢̀̀͞d̶̛͘͞͝ </span>
  <em>
    <span>/////</span>
  </em>
  <span> ͏̧̀̕s̷͜͏a͏̷ţ̷̛ ̸̕͟͞n̶͜é̷̢͝x͡͝t̴͡ ̴̨̨̕t̶́ǫ́͝ ̶̢͞͞h͝͡i͜͞m͏̷̡͡͠,̨̛͘̕͝ ̸̀̀̕ļ͏̷̀͢o̸̷̴̴̢o͏͝ḱ̷̕i̸̡̛͟͡n̶g͝͏̸ ̴̕a͟t̵̢ ͏̵̸Ḑ҉̸a̵̷̡r̸̛͘͘͝k̀͠.</span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>    Arthur just took one look at Illinois and walked over to the other side of the table from him. Yancy walked over to Illinois, nervous, looking nervously at Arthur. “Hey can I sit next ta youse? I uh . . .”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yancy glanced back at Arthur, and yelped a little bit when Arthur glared at him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You can switch with me,” Kay spoke up, already getting out of his seat.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Really?” Yancy looked relieved, already walking towards Kay. Illinois didn’t say anything as Kay pulled his chair closer to him, still holding onto his new rabbit plushie.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yan just sat next to Arthur, kicking her feet a little bit, all smiles, she turned and said, “Hey.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Arthur pouted and slammed his chin on the table, looking over at Dark who was talking to a waiter. They were speaking in a language none of the kids knew. And then the waiter scattered a menu card at every seat.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I thought I said we only needed eight chairs,” Dark reminded.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oh, I heard—” the waiter started before looking back at Dark and suddenly paling. “I can get rid of it, sorry about that.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“No it’s fine,” Dark dismissed. “Besides it makes the table look somewhat symmetrical.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What drinks can I get everyone?” The waiter asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I want a burger!” Arthur announced.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Drinks first,” Dark corrected. “Coke, water, tea, things like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Coke,” Arthur glared at Dark. The answer was almost universal across the table, Dark taking a green tea and ordering, “Wil is not allowed to order wine, I don’t care what you have to do, do not give it to him. Tell him you will and then don’t do it.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Yes, Sir,” the waiter answered. “Does anyone know what they want yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“A burger,” Arthur repeated.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Now, Arthur,” Dark walked over to Arthur to start talking to him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Kay leaned over to Illinois, “Can you read?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Uh, yeah?” Illinois answered.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I thought I could, but I can’t read this,” Kay told Illinois.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Illinois looked over at Kay’s menu, and his brain felt like it had turned to mush. Whatever the menu was written in, it wasn’t in any type of letters he had even seen in his life. The only recognizable thing was numbers by almost every line. On the other side were drink labels.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Uh,” Illinois stalled, “uh . . .”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Why are these numbers the same?” Kay asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Maybe they’re the same thing?” Illinois answered. “Like they’re made of the same stuff.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What’s would be the lowest?” Kay asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I don’t know, that stuff they make the nuggets out of? That meat pad stuff that comes in that little,” Illinois shaped his hands to make a shape of small container of some kind.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I like that stuff,” Kay said.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Uh, Mister?” Illinois called out to the waiter, and pointed to what Kay had pointing to earlier. “Can I have this?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Me too?” Kay added.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark stopped mid-argument, looking over at Illinois, “Do you even know what you’re asking for?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Illinois paused for a second too long, and because he’d forgotten what the reddish-pink sandwich meat stuff was, he answered, “Chicken?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark and the waiter traded a look, Dark sighing, “He’s not wrong, but take some of the kick out.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Alright,” the waiter said and Dark helped coach the other kids with their orders. He spoke briefly to the waiter in that unfamiliar language, to the kids at least.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“So,” Dark sat down next to Illinois again. “You boys like spicy food?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“No?” Illinois asked.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Well that’s what you two ordered,” Dark smirked. “Not bad though.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Really?” Illinois felt his chest almost burst with happiness.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>A portal ripped open and there was a deep boisterous laugh and Dark watched Wilford raced out with Bim on his shoulders, both of them laughing like something had been particularly funny. If Dark had to put a bet on that joke the punchline was murder.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Darky! You would not believe the day we’ve had!” Wil chuckled, before looking in confusion at the other kids. “Huh, how long have we had six?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“For a while now,” Dark lied, to everyone but Wil it was obviously a lie. But Wil shrugged, taking Bim off his shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Bim looked around the room, seeming confused and a little wounded.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Illinois took one look at the boy that had been brought in. He knew exactly what he was. He knew a family’s kid when he saw one. Arthur seemed to recognize it in Bim as well.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dark was suddenly in front of Bim, rubbing some red substance off Bim’s face, “You’re such a messy eater, you still hungry?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“No,” Bim huffed. “Who are they?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Your siblings,” Dark responded. “You were asking for playmates and that’s what siblings are. Besides, this will be a good opportunity for you. I’ll have some dumplings brought up, you need some real food.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I’m not hungry,” Bim repeated angrily.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Then you can take a seat and wait for the others to finish,” Dark told him sternly.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Bim glared at him but stomped over to the seat opposite Arthur.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Told me he Wanted to Talk for Awhile</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Whenever there are new additions to a family there are always some growing pains.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Title for this and the concept for this entire story were when I was listening to Lost Boy by Ruth B. it’s a really good song.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    Lunch was of course awkward, Wil was all smiles and had to be <em> “reminded” </em> what everyone’s names were. He was already doting over Yan, who he’d nicknamed <em> “Princess”. </em></p><p>    Bim wound up eating some of the dumplings, and Illinois found he kinda liked how hot the food he was eating heated his mouth. Kay didn’t like it so much, but he ate it without complaint.</p><p>    Then the kids were taken to a house, a nicer place than any of them had been in before, any of the belongings they’d had at the orphanage, excluding Kay and Yancy who didn’t have anything to bring with them that Dark could get to. Yancy because he’d been taken, and Kay because he now only had the rabbit stuffed animal Dark had given him.</p><p>    Wilford had endeared himself to the kids immediately, which Dark predicted and it made things easier since Arthur seemed to calm down, at least a little bit.</p><p>    Arthur and Yan had grabbed onto Wil’s arms and he was racing through the portal, spinning them around as they all laughed. Bim was perched on Wil’s shoulders, pinned in place mostly by the madman’s aura, he was screaming in delight as well.</p><p>    Yancy, Kay, and Illinois followed with Dark at a slower pace but Yancy still ran over and shouted, “Me next! Me next!” The boy’s earlier trepidation was mostly forgotten.</p><p>    On the ground were some scatter toys that Bim had left behind that Wil tried to step lightly around before carefully flopping all four of them on the couch. Bim climbing onto Wil’s chest.</p><p>    Yan gasped as she scrambled off Wil and walked to the little block structure with stuffed animals and some dolls. “Pretty dolly.”</p><p>    “That’s mine!” Bim shouted at Yan in anger.</p><p>    “Boys don’t play with dolls,” Arthur told him.</p><p>    Before Bim or Dark could intervene, Wil did, “Of course they do, why wouldn’t they?”</p><p>    Arthur looked flustered, “Well— They— They just don’t.”</p><p>    “Nonsense,” Wilford dismissed. “Just because you might not like it, doesn’t mean the others can’t. What do you like to do?”</p><p>    “Write,” Arthur answered bluntly.</p><p>    Wil seemed to brighten, “Ohhh hoh! A little show writer. Jerry’s our show writer, do you like baseball?”</p><p>    “Wil,” Dark warned. Not trusting Arthur with a baseball bat or a large stick yet.</p><p>    “Nonsense, every artist needs a physical outlet, Bim, play dolls with your sister. Let’s go Artie.”</p><p>    “It’s Arthur,” the young writer argued.</p><p>    “I don’t wanna play with her,” Bim told Wil, trying to take the doll back</p><p>    “Yan, hand him back the doll,” Dark told her, already holding a doll that looked a bit like her.</p><p>    Yan looked upset and frustrated until she saw the doll in Dark’s hands and squealed in excitement.</p><p>    Before she could grab it, Dark held it away, “Give Bim back his doll, we can get you your own, Bim you will share with her and when she gets her own dolls she’ll be sharing with you.”</p><p>    She almost threw the doll at Bim, and stood up to reach for the doll, “Gimme! Gimme! I gave him the doll.”</p><p>    Dark quickly gave her the promised doll, and she was jumping in delight. “She’s so pretty.”</p><p>    Looking down at Bim, who was grabbing up his toys and held them to his chest, Dark reminded him, “If I need to start putting names on stuff, I will.”</p><p>    “I don’t want her playing with my toys,” Bim answered.</p><p>    “I’ll remember that when she gets a toy you want to play with,” Dark reminded. “She’s not stealing your toys, she wants to play with them. They’ll all go back in the same box at the end of the day.”</p><p>    Bim was reluctantly coaxed into playing with Yan and after a while arguing descended into actual playing. So Dark quickly went to go check on Wil and Arthur who were outside. Illinois, Kay, and Yancy were watching from the upstairs balcony. Dark was braced with his aura to shield the windows and the three boys from errant baseballs or even the bat flying towards them.</p><p>    Thankfully accuracy practice hadn’t started yet, Wil was coaching Arthur how to hold a bat and swing it.</p><p>    Dark’s blue soul took one look at the expression of pure manic glee on Arthur’s face, and Dark felt the red flags going up. He made a mental note to check on Arthur very frequently for the next eternity.</p><p>    He was watching for a while before Illinois called out to him, “Dark?”</p><p>    Dark looked down and saw Illinois standing there, a book in his hands.</p><p>    Looking back toward Wilford he and Arthur seem to be distracted by something, so their little baseball session seemed to be wrapping up. “Wil’s almost done, if you want someone to read to you.”</p><p>    “Can you read it to me?” Illinois asked hopefully, trying to hold the book up higher as if Dark hadn’t seen the book earlier. It was the first Harry Potter book.</p><p>    The mob boss just stared at Illinois, as the boy’s hopeful smile began to get a little less hopeful.</p><p>    Dark stood up and motioned to the couch. “Sure, you don’t want Wil to read to you?”</p><p>    “I want <em> you </em> to read to me,” Illinois told him.</p><p>    There was a look on Dark’s face that Illinois didn’t know how to read. In about fifteen years when he was used to reading Dark’s moods and was close enough to him he would be able to, but Illinois was new to the Manor and new to Dark’s life.</p><p>    When Dark had recovered, he inclined his head, taking the book, “Alright.”</p><p>    A huge smile spread over Illinois’s face and he jumped a little in excitement. Dark followed Illinois back inside, keeping a copy’s eye on Wil and Arthur, making sure he could listen to Bim and Yan who seemed to be fine.</p><p>    Dark sat down on the couch, feeling distinctly out of his element. Illinois rushed to sit next to him, almost throwing himself up on the couch. Dark looked around, almost like a self-preservation reflex and saw Kay looking at them from the balcony door. When Dark patted his other side and Kay slowly walked over, holding his rabbit to his chest, as if he was afraid of being suddenly pushed away if he got too close, but Dark waited for him before he started the book, switching between Damien and Celine’s voices as he needed.</p><p>    Illinois was leaning closer to Dark, trying to sit as close to Dark as the mob boss would let him, which wound up being side-by-side, trying to see the book Dark was reading.</p><p>    After a couple pages, Wil walked back in with Arthur and Yancy, smiling at Dark and promising to watch the others. Which Dark thought was far enough and kept going.</p><p>    However while he was reading, both Kay and Illinois fell asleep. Illinois fell asleep against Dark’s side and Dark internally fought the urge to card his hands through the young boy’s hair.</p><p>    Wil came back, poking his head out of the hall and sleeping at Dark. “Ahh, I was wondering why it was so quiet.”</p><p>    “What are the others doing?” Dark whispered, dog-earring a page for Illinois to find later.</p><p>    “They’re asleep,” Wilford smiled lovingly at Dark. “Well, except for Artie but he started drawing and writing in another room. He’ll be fine for a couple seconds.”</p><p>    “I should get some work done while I have the chance,” Dark sighed, but when he tried to get up, Illinois clutched onto him in his sleep.</p><p>    Wilford chuckled a little bit, “I was worried there for a bit, you know, but I’m glad you and the kids are getting along.”</p><p>    With practiced ease, Dark lifted Illinois up and summoned up some blankets for the boys while they slept. Wil dashed off to find Arthur. Dark looked back at the two boys sleeping on the couch and couldn’t help but smile. The Manor almost hummed with a type of liveliness it had not had in decades.</p><p>    As the years ticked on strangers would be more and more like siblings. Yan and Bim would playfully bicker as they applied makeup in the same bathroom. Illinois and Kay would grow closer to Dark. And Illinois would subsequently always get blamed whenever Dark was missing something from his locked cabinets went missing as Illinois began to get better as picking locks, both magical and non-magical.</p><p>    Day by day Dark would lie and say he wasn’t attached as he patched bruised knees and guarded his wards, his children, from the various competing threats he faced.</p><p>    With so many children buzzing around Dark and Wilford, mostly being spotted one at a time, the Network would naturally get confused. Bim, Arthur, and Yan were often confused for each other, and Kay and Illinois were confused for each other. Dark was proud of the amount of conflicting reports that were given. To the point where most people didn’t believe the children existed.</p><p>    Dark and Wilford’s <em> Lost Ones </em> had slipped from the record and safely into Dark’s care.</p>
  </div></div>
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